Internal-combustion-engine oil-rectifying system



April 9, 1929. R. L. SKINNER ,2

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE OIL RECTIFYINQ SYSTEM Filed June 15. 1925 T0 ENG/NE CKflNIf- 005E.

T0 INT IK MHNIFOLD Patented Apr. 9, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH L. SKINNER, OF DETROIT, 1VIICHIGAN, AS SIGNOR TO SKINNER AUTOMOTIVE DEVICE (30., INC., OF DETROIT, IMICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION-ENGINE OIL-RECTIFYING SYSTEM.

Application filed June 15, 1925.

My invention pertains to features of novelty in the systems employed in association with internal-combustion engines which purify the lubricating oil, or which prevent it from becoming contaminated, or which accomplish both results more or less conjointly.

One object of the present invent-ion is to provide an apparatus or system of this general character which will withdraw the aerated lubricant substantially continuously from the engine, preferably from around the pistons and desirably from their piston-ring grooves, and which will return the reclaimed or purified oil practically continually to the lubricating system of the engine.

Another purpose of the invent-ion is the provision of a system of this or similar character which does not employ any floats or any valves likely to become fouled or rendered inoperative by reason of the presence of carbon or dirt in the oil undergoing treatment.

A further aim of the invention is to supply an appliance of this type wherein the refinement of the impure oil, to free it from its volatile constituents, occurs in a chamber subjected to subatmospheric pressure and also preferably to heat, a pump or equivalent appliance being employed to return the purified oil back to the lubricating system, as, for instance, the engine c-rank-case, under atmospheric pressure but without substantial cap a city for pumping back any material amount of air or gases.

An added feature of the new construction is the use of a check-valve or similar device to prevent oil or air from entering the separating chamber through the discharge or delivery pipe.

Still a further novelty in the structure is the use of a thermostatically-controlled valve so located and arranged that if it does not always function properly, it will have no substantially detrimental effect on the action of the appliance as a whole, such thermostat controlling the action of the heaton the fluids undergoing treatment.

Various other features of novelty and improvement will be made apparent from a de tailed understanding of the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings throughout the several views of which like reference characters have been used to designate the same parts.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section Serial No. 37,157.

of the construction, illustrating its manner of operating Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the heating portion of the rectifier;

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on line 33 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the means employed to adjust the amount of heat to which the separator is subjected.

In this structure, which depicts only one cylinder of a multi-cylinder internal-combustion engine having any approved style of lubrication system, the engine cylinder 110, water-cooled at its upper portion, accommodates the usual rcciprocatory piston 111 and the latter has an extension 112 on its skirt in alinement wit-h a port 113 through the cylinder side wall, the piston having a plurality of piston-ring grooves 114, 115 and 116 and their corresponding piston-rings 117, 118 and 119, the lower groove 116, inwardly of its ring, being joined to a lengthwise groove 121 on the surface of the piston in register with the cylinder port 113, such lower groove opposite the port having an airinletport 112 extended inwardly through the piston wall to the hollow interior thereof which is in direct connection with the interior of the crank-case.

This is a known construction as presented in my United States Patent No. 1,502,922, internal-combustion engine construction, granted July 29. 1924-.

Port 113 is joined by a pipe 128 to a rightangle passage 124C in the casting 125, an adjacent right-angle passage 126 in such casting connecting with a pipe 127 joined to the intake-manifold of the engine as a source of suction.

This casting 125 is covered by a shell or casing 128 secured thereto around its periphery by a plurality of screws 129 and forming therewith a separation or distillation chamber characterized 130.

Such member 128 is housed within and inwardly spaced from an outer shell 131 of the shape shown in the drawings and having an inturned, lower, marginal, circular flange 132 engaging the outer face of the inner shell, the element 131 being fastened by screws 132, or in any other convenient manner, to the laterally-apertured exhaust-manifold 120 of the engine, whereby the hotexhaust or a portion of them may flow through the space between the'two shells and heat the contents Cal of chamber as will be readily understohd.

In order to prevent a direct play of such hot gases on the inner shell 128, a curved deflector 133 forms a part of the outer casing member and directs the gases around the annular or arcuate space between the nested shells. Y

To control the heating effect, a hinged valve 13 1 is provided, the hinge-pin 135 thereof in the member 131 having a slotted plate 136 fastened thereto above the casing with a securing screw 137 extended through its curved slot and taking into the element 131, whereby the degree of opening or closing of the valve may be easily brought about and the valve maintained in adjusted position.

Thus the distillation or refinement chamber may be heated in adequate or proper degree by the heat developed by the engine itself.

In some localities a substantial amount of heat will be needed to accomplish the best results and other places possibly no heat at all will be required.

A cup 141 is secured centrally on the top of the casting 125 by means of a hollow threaded connector 1-1-2 extended through a central hole in the bottom of the cup into the upper-endv of the passage 126, the upright section of which is in the center of the casting as is clearly illustrated.

[in invert-ed, apertured, shallow, cup deflector 1 13 is interposed between the bottom wall of cup 1&1 and the top face of the casting, the connector 142 extending through such intermediate member as is fully shown.

A central stand-pipe 14A is mounted on the connector and upper. end is surrounded by a larger, inverted, cup-shaped deflector 145 carried on the under face of the top wall of.

shell 128.

An upright vent pipe 116 extends down through registering holes in the two men lbers 1 11 and 1 13 and projects upwardly in the cup 1 11 outsideoi the deflector 1 15 almost to the top ofthe former. I

A vertical passage 151 extends down through the casting 125 in register its upper end with holes through the parts 141 and 1 13 so that it is in communication with the interior of the cup 1-11, all as is clearly shown, in Figure 1 i The lower portion of the chamber 130.111 the casting125 is connected to the passage 151 by an inclined port 152 designed to be opened and closed by an inclined valve 158 loosely mounted in the end portion of a horizontal,

tilt d, bi-metal thermostat 15a secured near its other end at 155 by an adjusting screw to a sloping boss 156 forming part of the casting. V

The inclination or tilt of the thermostat is for the purpose of facilitating its mounting on the casting. 2

A pipe or tube 157 connects the lower end of passage 151 to the interior of a pump casing 158 accommodating a vane pump 159 rotated in any approved manner prof u ably by power derivedtrom the engine itself, such casing having a discharge connection 161 delivering to the engine crank-case or other part of the lubricating system, whereby the reclaimed oil will be returned to such crank-case or system.

The connection 161 contains a ball check valve 162 adapted under certain conditions to close the port joining the pump casing witl the connection. v

The operation of the appliance occurs practically as follows, assuming that the engine is comparatively cold and is just being started.

The suction of the engine intake-manitold, acting through the pipe 127, passage 126, the separating 0r distillation chamber 130, passage 12 1, tube 123, cylinder-port 113, and longitudinal channel 121, withdraws the aerated, more or less frothy. or foamy oil from the lower piston-ring groove 116 behind the piston-ring 119, the air admitted through the port 122 being for the purpose of breaking the vacuum to effect an efficient delivery of theoil from the groove and. to aerate the oil so that it may be more readily purified in the distillation chamber.

This suction not only withdraws the excess oil in aerated condition but it also draws off with the lubricating oil any intercepted gases of combustion, vapors, and fuel in gaseous or liquid form tending to pass down by the piston rings into the crank-case, whereby the oil entering the distillation chamber incorporates gases and gasifiable contaminating ingredients which it is desired to get rid of because they would seriously impair the lubricating qualities of the oil ifthey were permitted to find their way into the crankcase.

Hence this appliance prevents the main body of lubricating oil in the crank-case from becoming fouled by the descent thereinto of objectionable gases or liquids tending to escape past the pistons and it also precludes any eircess oil from passing upwardly by the piston-rings into the combustion chambers where it would produce objectionable carbon.

The engine being cool on starting, the thermostatic valve 153 closes the oil ,delivery port 152.

The impure aerated oil enters the chamber 130 through the port 124 beneath the deflector 1 13 and the free air, gases and vapors flow up through the pipe 1416, then down in the cup 1 11 between the wall of the latter and the, smaller inverted cup 1 15, then up in the latter, and thence down through the pipe 1 1 1, passage 126 and pipe 127 into the intal; manifold for consumption or combustion in the engine, all as will be readily understood.

Any small amount of entrained oil in such gases is thrown down in the cup 1411, by reason ofthe tortuous path travelled by the gases,

Cir

and flows out through passage 151 and pipe 157 to the pump 159.

The main body of oil, however, is deflected into and collects in the lower part of the chamber 180, and, as the engine heats up and heats the shell 128 by its hot exhaust gases, the oil builds up or accumulates in the annular space between the members 128 and 1 11, where it is adequately heated to distill ofi its gasliable ingredients which are drawn over into the intake-manifold, and the oil flows over into the cup 1 11 from which it passes down into the pump.

As soon as the engine and separating chamber have become heated sufliciently so that the oil itself is hot enough not to require heating in the distillation chamber, the thermostatimmersed in the hot oil-will open port 152 thus affording a direct oil-delivery connection between the lower part of chamber 130 and the oil delivery pipe 157 and the accumulated oil immediately drains out through this connection.

As a result, the oil does not'thereafter flow up through the annular space between the members 128 and 141 and, consequently, it is not materially additionally heated in the chamber.

Such a construction and mode of ope ation eliminates the possibility of the formation of objectionable carbon by reason of the performance of the oil rectification or distillation operation.

The reclaimed or purified oil flowing down the pipe 157 enters the pump and the latter discharges it back into the engine crank-case or other part of the lubricating system under atmospheric pressure, it being obvious, that, owing to the differences in pressure in the separation or distillation chamber and in the crank-case, such a pump or its equivalent, is necessary to effect the discharge against the higher pressure.

The pump should be of a capacity to return without delay the maximum quantity of oil which would be delivered into the separating chamber under any running conditions of the engine, but it should not pump gases back into the lubricating system.

If the pump delivers its oil into the crankcase below the level of the surface of the oil therein, the crank-case oil itself will form a proper seal for the pump under all ordinary conditions, but if the pump delivers its oil to the crank-case above the oil level therein, then when the amount or quality of oil passing through the pump is incapable of keeping the latter constantly sealed, or when the pump is unduly worn, or when the engine is first started and no oil seal is available, the check-valve 162, by closing, prevents air under atmospheric pressure from passing reversely through the pump from the crankcase and interfering with or destroying the vacuum in the distillation chamber or pump intake connection 157, and hence preventing the delivery of the oil into the pump.

Thus it will be perceived that the aerated impure or polluted oil is continuously withdrawn from around the engine pistons so long as the engine is running and the oil, as soon as reclaimed or freed from its gasifiable impurities, is fed back to the lubricating system of the engine without delay or interruption or intermediate storage.

This invention is not limited to the particular embodiment thereof illustrated and described since other structures having its attendant advantages fall within the purview of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

The combination of a rect-ifying-chamber, means connecting said chamber to the lubrication system of an internal-combustion engine, means to subject said chamber and conecting means to suction to withdraw impure lubricant from said system, to deliver such lubricant into said chamber, to facilitate the lubricant purifying process therein, and to withdraw the separated gases and Vapors from the chamber, a pump to return the lubricant purified in said chamber under normal operating conditions substantially-immediately after its reclamation to the lubrication system of the engine under substantially atmospheric pressure, said pump hav ing material capacity only for delivering liquids from said chamber to the system, and a check-valve associated with said pump to prevent interference with the sub-atmospheric condition in its intake whereby a lubricant seal is maintained in the pump.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

RALPH L. SKINNER. 

